Memories of The Future
by Wandering Airhead
Summary: Having lost all of his hope Naruto attempts to transfer his memories to his younger counterpart in hope that he will be able to prevent what happened to him. Unfortunately in reality things rarely go as expected. Will that be enough?
1. Prologue

**Author's note:** Having lost all of his hope Naruto attempts to transfer his memories to his younger counterpart in hope that he will be able to prevent what happened to him. Unfortunately reality is not so easy, and things never quite go as expected. PowerNaru story, but I hope to make it a serious one.

Warnings probably in order, but not yet…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto… bla, bla… this is a non-profit work… bla, bla… you get the drill, don't you?

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**Prologue**

The strange humming sounds went on for long minutes, but the young men didn't mind. He was meditating. He needed to focus his entire mind on the task at hand. There was no place for mistakes. There was no second chance. He already made all the mistakes he could, when he let die all of the people he ever cared for. Now he was alone, with no one to back him up, and but one single task to accomplish, before he abandoned all the hope he still had, however little it was.

The words of the Great Toad Sage were still embodied deep in his mind. _Time never stops, going in the ever-changing loop. There is no way to stop it, and no way to change it. What once was will happen again, and again, similar, but not quite the same. Remember young one, what mistakes was made by the older generation, may be repaired, but those who follow. It is like a spiral, or a whirlpool._

The irony of it was that the words that once reinforced his hope, now made him throw it away. But there was an even greater irony, as the very abandonment of hope became the source of hope in itself. As fragile as it was.

"It's done" the deep voice finally stated.

"I'm ready" came his reply.

"Are you sure about that? You should know the consequences."

The blond man then raised his head, staring into the eyes of the giant toad. For a moment that seemed to take eternity he remained silent, but once he spoke, his voice was firm.

"I made my mind long time ago. There is no more turning back," he stated with a grim smile.

"Then let the link be established" announced the Toad Sage, touching the open scroll in front of him with his finger. Where once was a blank space in the composition, appeared a sing for _Fate_. The link was there.

Naruto stared at it for a long while. It was now complete. The seal he worked on for past weeks was now finally completed with this last, seemingly insignificant sign. It was but an illusion. The seal inscribed on the scroll had now the power to establish the conection throughout time and begin the transfer. Now he only needed to bond the seal to himself, for it to activate. The drawback was, that along with the memories his very vital force will be sent along with memories, weakening him gradually, to ultimately kill him in the end.

_Well, bugger. Here goes nothing._

He formed the seals and after a moment of hesitation placed his hand on the only black space left on the scroll. The seal moved as if finally gaining a life of its own and made its way up his arm gradually making its way toward his chest. Along came pain, far greater than he would expect.

A cry of agony left his mouth and run through the skies.

/-/

The blond boy suddenly sat on his bad, shouting. He looked around just to find himself in the safety of his own apartment. Drenched in cold sweat he took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. It must have been one really nasty nightmare. It was hardly anything unusual for him. He hadn't many dreams he could honestly call pleasant.

The strange part was that he could by no means recall what exactly was the nightmare about. They usually left a vivid memory of themselves, refusing to go away. He abandoned the strange thoughts out of his mind, and buried himself in his futon once again. It was the middle of the night, and if he could go back to sleep without trouble, he was more than willing to do just that. Moments later he was sound asleep, entranced in another strange dream, one that was to leave a most distinct memory.

/-/

Naruto slowly rose up to his feet, his legs still shaking a little bit. The right sleeve of his coat hang loosly, moved only by the gentle breeze. He took a deep breath, and looked into the sky. It was strange. He expected he would feel something once it was done. But he didn't. He couldn't even find it in himself to care. It has started.

"Thank you, Honorable Sage" he said with a deep bow. And with that he walked away. There was nothing else to discuss at this point, and above all there was no time to lose. He could almost feel his energy drained from within himself, even though the process was much too slow for it to be possible. It happened. There was only one thing left to be done. He had to go and make his last stand against Madara. He had no hope of defeating the men. That much was certain, but maybe, just maybe the memories of this last fight will help his younger self to find a way out of this, to somehow stop the bastard from turning entire world into his private puppet show.

He gathered his equipment getting ready for the last battle. Yet he was calm. He was so calm it seemed unreal, like it was all happening to some other person, and didn't concern him at all. Then again, maybe that was the case. That was the whole meaning behind the seal. To transfer all he knew to his younger counterpart, so that armed with the knowlagde of the future he could somehow prevent it. It was no longer in his hands to save the world. As far as he was concerned the world met its end long time ago, along with the destruction of Konoha. Uzumaki Naruto died that very day. The man that now stood here was nothing more than an empty shell. A phantom…

"Are you ready?" Gamakichi's voice came from behind his back.

"Hell yeah!" he said with a grin on his face, finding some dark humor in all of this. After all how many man had a chance to die twice?

/-/

The young boy screamed with agony, dropping to his knees and grabbing his head with his hands in attempt to make it stop. But it didn't work. The images kept pouring into his mind, mingling into a chaotic torrent of colors and emotions threatening to break his mind apart. He cried begging for it to stop, begging for someone to help him. But the help didn't come. It seemed to continue for eternity, before he was finally embraced by darkness. His body inertly slumped down to the floor.

Later the boy would wake up, his head hurting like it was hit with a thousand hammers, the only recollection he would have being a strange dream in which a blond man sat opposite to a really huge frog…

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_I hope I managed to pick someone's interest. Excuse me for the langue, but English is not my native, I hope to improve as I go. Any feedback, comments, whatever, very much welcome._

_Chapter one is being worked on. This is but a brief introduction._


	2. The new beginning

**Disclaimer:** The author of this story has no connections to Naruto. All the following contents is but a sick imagination of a certain individual, and as such should be handled carefully, and with healthy dose of distance.

_

* * *

_

**The new beginning**

With the last stroke of brush, the ultimate piece of art was now completed. The blond kid, no more than six years of age leaned back, to admire his creation in full scale. Well, it wasn't entirely his, he had to admit. The busts themselves were sculpted by others, but there was no doubt in him, that his contribution in the process was by far the most significant. Or at the very least, the most eye-catching. And that last belief seemed to be shared by others as well.

"You there! Brat! Get down here right now!" someone shouted from below.

"How dare you vandalize the monument?"

"Stop it this instant!" angry voices kept shouting time after time.

The blond kid ignored them in favour of admiring his work. As far as he was concerned the monument has never looked so great. A wide grin formed on his face, as he turned to the increasingly loud gathering below him.

"Shut up! You are just jealous, that none of you could have pulled it off!"

"Get down and you'll see!"

"There will be hell to pay!"

"Ne, ne, ne, ne, ne!" answered Naruto pulling on his eyelid and sticking out his tongue "You won't catch me!"

And then the whole world suddenly made a wild spin, as the scaffold he was seating on tilted along with him. Before he even had time to register what happened, he was in the air. Falling. He found himself screaming, as he realized he was rushing to meet the ground with an increasing velocity.

He tensed, a sense of panic made all of his body go numb. Some part of him was desperately crying for him to snap out of it and do something, and do it fast. But all he could do was watch in horror as the whole world reduced itself to the few dozen feet separating him from the ground.

_This is it _- a thought flashed through his mind. This was the end. Was it really supposed to end like this? A part of himself was desperately striving to find a solution. And then something just switched in his head, and suddenly there was no more fear. Only himself in the narrow space between the cliff and wall of Hokage's Tower. He jerked in mid-air, so that his feet brushed the edge of the cliff, and then he jumped, pushing himself from one wall to another. And then, after a quick flip he found himself crouched on the tower's wall.

For a brief moment he sat there calmly looking at the ground. Then he came to, as if waking up from some sort of weird dream, and with some morbid fascination he realized that he was staring at the distant ground crouched on a very vertical wall. His eyes widened in shock, and all adhesion suddenly disappeared.

He found himself struggling in a futile attempt to calm down, faced with the ground rushing to meet him at a dangerous pace. _Clear your mind, focus. Remember the damn feeling. You can do it. You just did! – _he mentally yelled at himself, trying with all his might to recreate the lost feeling. But the funny warm tingling in his feet, which felt so natural but a moment ago, now seamed alien, and just refused to come back…

/-\-/-\-/

A pair of eyes watched from below, as a small boy suddenly pushed himself off the cliff and with a fluid movement landed perfectly on a vertical wall, just to slip and begin an uncoordinated, chaotic run down only a moment later. But he could see. In amidst the desperate struggle, he saw perfectly clear, how with each and every step, the falling body lost a fraction of its momentum, however small it was. With growing interest he observed closely, how the blond kid "run" down the wall, his feet either barely attaching to the wall, or breaking it with a cracking sound, leaving behind deep marks. Finally after a particularly loud crack, the boy landed on the ground, rolling to lose caution the fall.

For a minute or two he just sat there staring absentmindedly at his palms and feet, his face set in an astonished expression. Finally he gathered himself. He took a look upwards, and a nervous expression on his face was soon replaced by a wild grin. Not waiting for whatever might happen, he made a dash towards the next building, soon disappearing behind the door.

"That way! He went into that building!"

"Catch him" people started to yell, and a few figures rushed through the door just a few seconds after the blond kid.

A small smile formed on the observers lips, all well hidden under a white mask embellished with a black, swirly pattern. And then he disappeared.

/-\-/-\-/

Naruto ran through the crowded hall like a storm. Startled cries and confused looked marked his way along the corridor, as he run, flashing by people, using even the smallest space to slip through. A wild smile was still on his lips, and only widened, when he looked back and found his pursuers getting lagged in the chaos. A small frame gave him an ultimate advantage in this round of 'catch me if you can'. After a moment he finally found the other way out, and dashed towards it. When outside, he paused for a brief moment to consider his options. There were so many possibilities after all. After a brief hesitation, he reached to his pants' pocked producing three small balls wrapped in cloth. He quickly placed them over the ajar door, mischievous glint sparkling in his eyes, as he did. He then dashed to the nearest corner.

"Henge no jutsu!" he declared, trying to keep his voice down.

He looked down to confirm all went well. Finding himself completely changed, he get out of the alley and went his way, trying to act as if nothing happened. Yet no matter how he tried he found it impossible to contain a wide smirk, when he heard three loud puffs behind his back. Suddenly he felt very content.

/-\-/-\-/

The masked figure watched closely, as several shinobi appeared out of the door, just to disappear in a cloud of thick smoke, soon after. He let an inaudible sigh looking at the resulting confusion, and turmoil, before the group finally split up in various directions to look for boy, who wasn't even a boy anymore. Not losing any more time he dashed after a certain teenage red-head.

He was mildly impressed with the blond kid skills. He wasn't able to walk down the wall, but considering his age it was impressive that he even knew the trick, let alone pull it off, however poorly. Many genins struggled with it for weeks, and they already knew how to mould chakra, not to mention a teacher to instruct them. And here a squirt, no older than six was able to perform it well enough to actually slow down his fall from at least twenty feet, to the point where he didn't sustain any injuries when meeting the ground.

The henge wasn't so bad either, even if far from perfect. He managed to turn himself into quite a tall teenager, though his features were doll-like, making it painfully obvious upon closer inspection. Nonetheless it was quite enough to fool an average passer-by, or a genin from some distance. And there was the naming of the jutsu out loud part. It never ceased to amaze him how many genins couldn't broke themselves of the habit they carried out of the academy. But all in all the boy was reminding the man of himself, when he was six. He was more proficient at that time, but not very much so. And he was called a prodigy.

/-\-/-\-/

Gentle knock on the door distracted Hokage from the paperwork. He scratched his hand wondering what could it be so early in the morning. The first thing that came to his mind was that Naruto has done something again. Did he manage to wreck some more havoc so soon after the previous commotion. It wasn't even ten minutes since the monument incident were reported.

"Come in" he said, sighing mentally. He had a feeling that it will be a very long day.

"Hokage-sama" young man bowed at the doorstep. White mask with a familiar pattern was covering his face*. Hokage nodded in recognition.

"What brings you here, Itachi? I hope it's nothing serious?"

"I have a report to make, concerning a certain individual" the young ANBU answered in levelled voice.

Just then Hokage finally noticed a blond kid held firmly by the scruff of his neck. His eyes widened in recognition, but as he tried to respond, the boy cut in.

"Itachi? Like in Uchiha Itachi, the special ANBU?" he cried, his mouth and eyes wide open. "That's totally unfair old man! Why would you send someone like that? At least give me a chance!"

"I was not sent by the Hokage. I happened to be nearby, and decided to intervene."

Hokage sighted tiredly, before applying a stern expression to his face. "Naruto!" He raised his voice cutting short the boys argument. "You just vandalized the most important monument of Konoha in a most disrespectful manner…"

"Oh, come on, old man! You make it sound like something horrible, and I just applied a bit of colour here and there. What's all the fuss about?"

The man sighted again scratching his beard. "You do realize that the Hokage monument is a very important symbol for our village…?" he started, but was cut short yet again.

"Why wouldn't I? I mean, my face will be there as well one day! It ought to be important…"

"Naruto!" Hokage once again raised his voice. "You will now go back there, and you won't leave until all the busts are all perfectly clean. I'll have someone keep an eye on you," he continued in a stern voice. "Now go!"

He then watched, as a rebellious expression disappeared from Naruto's face, replaced with resignation, and then a sulk. The boy then reluctantly turned away and moved towards the door.

"And Naruto?" the boy's faced looked back at the man. "I believe Biwako** is making sashimi for lunch. I'm sure she will be delighted to see you, so be sure to stop by, when you are done," he said with a gentle smile.

The blonde's eyes widened, as a wide smile covered his face. "Yahoo! You are the best geezer in the whole world! I will work as hard as never before! You just see!" he shouted excitedly and dashed towards the door. A few surprised cries from the corridor suggested that he didn't slow down after leaving the office. The old man's smile widened as he stared at the door for a long while. Deep down inside he hoped the boy will stay that way as long as he could. Not many things in life brought him greater joy than Naruto's honest smile. It seemed to radiate poor happiness.

Finally his face once again settled into a serious expression, as he stared at his other guest. "There seems to be something more you wish to tell me."

Itachi thought for a moment, looking for right words.

"The boy seems to have potential… Did you ever consider providing him with some assistance in his training?"

The old shinobi raised his eyebrows, scrutinizing the young man, before asking. "What makes you say that?"

"You may wish to examine the towers walls on the cliff side."

/-\-/-\-/

A blond boy sat alone in an empty alley staring blankly at the opposite wall. On days such as this he sometimes wished he wouldn't have been born. Why was it? Why was it that at every step, at every corner people would stare at him with those cold, menacing eyes, as if he was some sort of abomination. All he wanted was peace and quiet, and a friend or two to talk to when things weren't going right. Was that really so much?

He hated them. Sometimes he really did. All those people, those worthless bastards, who knew nothing but how to judge others. So why did it hurt so much? Why did it have to hurt? He didn't care about them, nor did he care what they think of him. Yet every time he was looked on with those eyes, those hateful glares, something clenched inside him, and he wished he was no more.

Unconsciously he raised his hand to his cheek, brushing over a mildly swelling bruise. Memories from a few hours ago swirled inside his mind. He was half-seating, half-lying on some elevated porch, on top of the stairs, watching the clouds, paying no mind to his surroundings. It was one of those rare peaceful moments, until a group of kids, a little older than himself appeared. They started to make fun of him, calling him names, and making nuisances of themselves. As he was in relatively high spirits, he just stood up and wanted to walk away. But then, just when he turned his back on them, he felt someone grabbing him by the arm. He didn't really know how did it happen, but he suddenly found himself punching one of the kids. And all hell broke loose. He would punch, and kick, and dodge, and bite, and soon enough the turmoil ended, with the other kids pulling back, yelling he would pay them back, and himself just standing there, breathing heavily, with a bruise forming on his cheek, where an elbow connected with his face. And just like that the world turned from a merry place into a land of sorrow.

Why did it always happen to him? He never did anything to deserve it, did he? He could be a pain, he knew it. He got under many peoples skin with his pranks and jokes, and all the commotion he kept causing. But somehow he knew it wasn't it. He wasn't the only one, he wasn't even the worst of them, so called "troublemakers". But other's weren't treated like that. They were scolded, sometimes driven away with a broom, or a stick, but no one scolded him. People would just look at him with those eyes, as if he wasn't even worth a reprimand, as if there was no hope for him.

His hand once again moved on its own, down to his stomach. He pulled his shirt up a bit, and his eyes fell on the strange mark on his stomach. He didn't know why, but something kept telling him that it was somehow connected to it. That weird… seal on his stomach. He tried to wash it off of himself numerous times, going as far as scraping his skin off to the flesh. But nothing helped. He would wake up the next day all healed up, with the mark still there, unfazed.

Then he felt hot tears suddenly welling in the corners of his eyes, as a strange feeling of hopelessness washed over him. Something flashed through his mind, too fast for him to catch it. Just a blur of colours, but he felt his heart clenching with fear. Suddenly he felt like he already knew what it was, but he just couldn't remember. And there was this small part of his mind yelling at him to keep away from it, not to delve on the matter. But he felt attracted to it, like a moth to fire, willing to take it even if it were to burn him to death. And he could almost see it, as if it was within the reach of his arm. As if he only needed to extend his hand and take it. But he couldn't, as it seemed to move just beyond his reach every time he tried. Tempting, yet inaccessible. And then came the voice.

"What's that?" it asked. Caught off-guard he jerked his head up, to meet the face of a blond girl, about his age, eyeing his belly curiously.

"Um… it's nothing!" he said instantly pulling his shirt back down.

"Buuu…" the girl pouted for but a moment, as her expression grew into a stubborn smile. "Show me! Show me!" she called out, grabbing his shirt and trying to lift it herself.

"W-wha… What are you doing?" He cried out, a blush flushing his cheeks. He tried to fend of her hands, but she refused to back down. "Stop it!"

"Oh, come on, just a little peak, don't be stingy!" the girl kept on the offensive, for it to come to an abrupt stop, as she finally took a closer look at Naruto's face. "Hey! You are crying? Why would you start to cry all of a sudden?"

"It's not all of the sudden! And I'm not crying!" the boy denied hotly, wiping his face. "See? Something just got in my eye."

The blond eyed him intently for a moment, tilting her head curiously, apparently pondering on something, but soon shrugged her shoulders. "If you say so… So what was that on your belly?"

Dismissing the other matter, she has immediately gone back to her assault on his shirt. Finding his position greatly disadvantageous, Naruto quickly jumped up to his feet, running away from the crazy female, who in turn started to chase him around. Soon they were laughing and giggling like crazy trying to catch one another, at least they finally settled down, exhausted, but happy nonetheless.

Naruto lied down with an honest smile on his face. All of his concerns long gone and forgotten, he found himself happy to be alive. Oh, what a great feeling it was. He slowly closed his eyes, loosened the strained muscles and just relaxed, taking joy from every breath of air and every beat of his heart. He couldn't recall when the last time he felt so great was.

"Hey, I'm Ino, by the way. What's your name?" came the girls voice.

He looked at her. His heart clenched fearfully, as he hesitated. He found himself scared that she would turn her back on him once she learned his name, that her gaze would also turn cold and hateful, and she would just walk away, denying to have ever met him.

"Hmm, what's wrong?" she tilted her head curiously. "Don't you have a name?"

"It's Naruto" he admitted hesitantly, looking for any signs of animosity, but the girl just smiled.

"It's nice to meet you Naruto."

"It's nice to meet you as well" he smiled back at her.

And then he turned his eyes towards the sky, looking at the clouds. It all felt almost too good to be true.

"Hey, stop behaving like Shika!" called Ino.

"Shika?"

"Yeah, Shikamaru, he is like the laziest guy on earth. He is just napping all the time. And then he just won't move, and you have to drag him everywhere, it's so frustrating. But he is actually nice if you get to know him, and there is Chou…" the blond started.

Naruto found himself half-listening to her, as she went on and on about one guy or another, content to just have someone talking to him. It was strange feelings to let someone else do the talking for once. He opened his eyes, and turned his head to the girl, and just observed as she was jumping from one topic to another, gesticulating intensely.

"Hey!" he jumped, when the girl suddenly yelled in his ear. "Sheesh, you aren't even listening to me!" she pouted.

"Sorry, sorry, got distracted somewhere along the way" he smiled sheepishly.

"Geez, you are just like Shika! No, you are even worse than him! He at least listens. I think he does… Arghh, it's all your fault!" she grumbled, crossing her arms and turning her face in mock offence.

"Sorry…" he apologized yet again still looking at her. Then he thought of something and started searching through his pockets. But all he got was a strange stone he found the other day. It was a flat, oval stone with a couple of veins forming into a flower-like pattern. He was planning to make it into a pendant, and even managed to drill a hole for a leather strap. Without much thought he extended his hand towards the girl.

"Here, take this. It's a present" he smiled.

She looked at him, surprised, then at his hand, and at his face again. "For me?"

"Sure."

"Thank you…" she said finally, somewhat overwhelmed, by the sudden gift. "It's cute."

"Thought you might like it."

She smiled widely, and he found himself blushing slightly, when she turned and beamed at him.

"You are a nice guy, you know. Shika would never do something like that! Hey, I know! Come with me!" she suddenly jumped to her feet, and pulled him to his, before he could even realise what was happening. And then she started to run, pulling him behind…

/-\-/-\-/

Naruto sat on a swing looking at Ino pacing around irritated. It must have been the twentieth time she was circling the playground, yet he couldn't get bored just watching her doing so. He found it enviable, how she could concern herself to that extent over something as petty, as her friends being a little late for their meeting.

"Where are they? They are so going to pay! It's Shika. It's always him. I'll nail him to the nearest wall! Yeah, and then I'll kick him to the moon, and…"

"Take it easy Ino-san, it's not like it's a big deal…"

"Not a big deal? NOT A BIG DEAL? They make me wait here in favour of goofing around, and you call it 'not a big deal'?" she turned to him, her eyes burning with anger. But even that anger seemed nice somehow.

It was completely different from the 'cold' anger he was used to experience. It was more like an 'irritated' type of anger, something along the lines of 'I like you, but sometimes you just make me want to beat the hell out of you'. It felt pleasant to have someone irritated at him. Enough to make him grin.

"Argh! Stop that!" she yelled.

"What?"

"Stop with the grinning! It's annoying!"

"Why?" he asked, somewhat confused.

"Because! So stop it!"

"But I don't want to."

"Guuu!" she boiled in frustration.

Naruto watched her curiously as she rolled up her sleeve and started to walk over to him with 'murder' in her eyes. Next thing he knew he was in a headlock, and couldn't quite free himself.

"What are you doing?" he asked, laughing.

"Heavens judgement!"

"Ok, ok stop it… I get it, I will stop… hey, Ino!… I give up!"

They wrestled for another few moments, Ino in an obviously advantageous position, but not completely so, as Naruto found a way to reach behind his back and tickle her on the sides, which happened to be her weak spot. But it all soon came to stop, as someone called.

"Ino-chan! What are you doing there?" asked a woman. She had blond her, and looked to be in her mid-twenties.

"Oh, hey mom! I was just waiting for Shika and Chou, and killing time."

"What are you talking about, dear? Shikamaru and Chouji came over an hour ago…"

"They did what?"

"Shikamaru-kun said you invited them over."

"Guuu! It's decided! I'll threw them through the window. And then I'll tell daddy! And then…"

"Anyway, who is this boy, you were playing with, maybe you should…?"

"Oh! It's Naruto-kun! I just met him today."

"Naruto-kun? Is that so… Well, hurry up Ino-chan, It's time for lunch. The boys are waiting." Said the woman with a smile, but something seemed to change in her demeanour, when Naruto's name was mentioned. Ino stayed oblivious, but the boy suddenly felt all of his good mood evaporating.

"Ok! Sorry Naruto, I'll see you around!" Ino waved at him, as she ran towards her mother.

"Uh, yeah, see you…" He waved as well, smiling weakly.

He stared as the girl run over to her mother, taking another chance to complain about her friends. And just then, when they were about to disappear behind the corner, he caught the woman's glare. Cold, unfriendly look, everyone seemed to reserve for him. But this time it seemed to hurt even worse. Somehow he was sure he won't be seeing Ino ever again. It felt as I someone slapped him across the face. He hung his head, feeling the tears welling up in his eyes.

He shut his eyelids. _No._ He wasn't going to cry. He refused to cry over it. How did he even let it happen again? How? He knew. Deep down inside he knew it was futile, for each and every time it always ended the same way. Ultimately someone would always interfere.

Yet at the same time he just couldn't give up all hope. And so he kept getting hurt. Again and again. He raised his head and looked around, at the empty playground. With no one around he could pretend it was ok. He could even fool himself. Fool into thinking that it didn't hurt. A sad smile curled his lips.

He got up and started walking ahead with nowhere particular in mind. He just put his hands in his pockets and walked. He needed to forget. He was in desperate need of something that would make him not think about it. Unconsciously he started to run, and soon he was dashing at the breakneck speed. With no destination, no goal mind, other than to get as far away as he could.

He didn't know when he stopped nor where he was, when he did. But there was a tree, so he climbed it. He just lied down on a branch and looked into space, cowered in sweat, breathing heavily, with a ponding heart, and absolutely no thoughts in his minds. He just looked not really seeing anything. It was good enough, he thought, as his mind started to drift away.

He was awakened to a quiet patting noise. He shifted his weight, his mind still not fully aware, of the surrounding, and he almost feel down of the tree, when he suddenly lost his balance.

Tore up from his sleep he sat taking a curious glance around. He was in what seemed to be a middle of a forest, but most likely wasn't. He could still hear distant noises of the village somewhere in the background. And there came few patting noises almost in the same time.

"Wow! Brother, you are great!" came a kids voice. "You hit them all right in the middle, even the one behind the rock! Alright, let me try, let me try!"

There was a child no older than him, and another person, who looked a few years older. Both had black hair and ware dressed in black.

"Head back, Sasuke, it's getting late," said the older kid.

"You told me, you'll teach me some moves!"

"It's getting late, mom will get mad at me if you won't get back for supper."

"You liar," Sasuke pouted.

His brother smiled in a troubled manner, and then shook his hand a bit, gesturing for him to come. The kid jumped at that, only to meet a finger pointed to his forehead, when he got there.

"Sorry Sasuke. Some other time."

The kid pouted again, glaring daggers at the older boy. And then he smirked, suddenly producing a few kunai. "Look at this!"

"Stop Sasuke, don't be unreaso…" started the teen, but was too late.

The younger kid jumped up high throwing the knives at all sides, in a futile attempt to hit the targets around. Only he lost balance in the air, and landed badly, his knee ploughing the ground.

"Ouch!"

"See, what did I tell you?" the older kid said, sighing. "Let me take a look."

"It's nothing, I'm fine!" the kid jumped up instead, to prove the point. But some blood was already running down his leg from the wound on his knee.

"That's enough. Go get it disinfected."

"What about you? Let's go together," the kid pouted again.

"I'll stay here a bit longer. I have an important mission next week."

"But…"

"Come on, I'll be there shortly."

Sasuke was lingered a little longer, until he finally gave up and went away, still pouting. The older kid watched him as he walked, until he couldn't be seen anymore. He walked to the nearest target, and took a kunai out of it, thoughtfully weighting it in his hand for but a moment, and then thrown it in a move that escaped the eye. Right in the direction of Naruto.

The blond kid lost his balance, and fell down with a loud cry, when the knife hit the tree trunk a few inches from his face.

"Ouch" he uttered, as he hit a ground, and sat down, massaging the arm he hit the ground with. He looked up to see the teenage boy stopping a few steps from him.

"It's you. What are you doing here, squirt?"

"Uh-… I was just, um-… sort of dozed off on that tree, and… then you were there, and…" Naruto replied nervously. He found out long ago that it wasn't good to piss off a man with a kunai in his hand, especially if it was one who knew how to use it.

Then he took a closer look at the older boy. He looked somewhat familiar. The voice also rang a bell. He looked at him, furrowing his brows in an attempt to connect it to the name, and then it hit him, as he noticed the little pony tail.

"Ah!" he cried pointing at his face. "You are Itachi! Uchiha Itachi!"

Itachi just raised an eyebrow, still looking at the blond silently.

"That was awesome! That kunai throwing! How would you do that?" Naruto continued, his earlier nervousness gone without a trace. "You are really cool, I really look up to you, you know?" he went on excitedly, stopping to see the other boy's unfazed expression.

He froze then, his mouth still open in the middle of his speech, as an awkward silence descended. He slowly closed his mouth, his cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment.

"Er… I uh-… that… I mean um-…" he stuttered a bit, scratching the back of his head, looking for something to say. "Do you think um-… that you could, you know… teach me a bit…?" he asked finally. "I mean I know you have missions and all, and…"

"Attack me" was the reply.

"Uh-, yeah, I guess you wouldn…" he stopped mid-sentence jerking his head up, as he realised what he heard. "What?"

"Try to attack me, I have to see," Itachi said as if it were the most natural thing. Hokage could have been reluctant, and unwilling, to acknowledge boy's skills, not to mention actually letting him be thought. But he knew what he saw, and was interested, to say the least. What could the kid do? He wanted to know, and he was going to find out.

Meanwhile Naruto hesitantly rose to his feet, feeling awkward, and unsure how to react. Was he supposed to just attack like that? Or was this some sort of test? He cast a nervous glance at the kunai in Itachi's hand, and almost jumped as they were immediately discarded, thrown at a nearby tree.

"Begin with taijutsu."

Naruto lingered for another moment, but finally decided to take the chance.

_Ok, here goes nothing._

He dashed straight, and tried to pack the strongest punch he could, only to find he attacked an empty space. He felt a push on his back and he stumbled almost falling down.

"Don't attack mindlessly. Think."

Naruto looked back to find a pair of red eyes boring staring at him intently. _Wait, is that…?_ He opened his mouth.

"Don't expect your opponent to go easy on you. Ever," Itachi cut him, before he even has a chance to speak.

The blond stopped for a moment, pressing his lips into thin line. That was totally impossible. How was he supposed to land a hit on him, when he was serious? There was no way… _unless…_

He made another dash at the young ANBU. Just before him he made a huge swing with his right mind, throwing a seemingly wild punch, which was easily dodged. Then he followed with the movement of the punch, and using his hand to lean on the ground, he utilised all the momentum to make a spin kick with his left leg. He felt his leg being caught.

But he didn't stop. His mind all clear, acting entirely on intuition, he threw his left hand to build some momentum, and using the support, the caught leg provided, spun again, an d kicked with his right. It was caught as well, but acting still, he tried to utilize his right hand, but only landed on his head, when Itachi let go of his legs.

"Are you a monkey?" he asked. "A fight is not acrobatics performance. It's about being effective, not flashy."

Even though he said that, in reality he was quite impressed. The idea was indeed faulty, fighting like that during a mission would only succeed in getting oneself killed. And yet the movement flow was impressive, and if used in appropriate circumstances it could be very effective. The execution was also good. The first attack was a bit crude, but that last kick had a potential to catch even a chunin by surprise. Yes, the kid had the potential, but how far could he take it? How far indeed?

"Again. This time properly," he said, a little smile forming on his lips.

_

* * *

_**Footnotes:**

_* I'm not really a fan of animal-like ANBU masks, so I decided to change them to be like the hunter-masks, like the one Haku wears in canon. It just seems to fit better. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with fooling some of you into believing Madara was making an entrance…_

_** She isn't really mentioned often, so for the sake of clarity, Biwako is Hiruzen's wife. It seems she died by Madara's hand in the canon, of which I forgot, but I'd feel wrong about killing her again so soon, so here she is alive and kicking. Well, guess Madara is one victim short then…_

**

* * *

Authors comments: **_I know the development was pretty slow in this chapter, but I wanted to take my time (my word count in this case?) to properly introduce the young Naruto. I'll see to it that it will get faster in following chapters._

_Anyway, the memory-linking seal did work, though not quite as planned. Where memories should have been, only flashes, and intuition appears. Also the timeline is quite different. For starters, the gap in age between Itachi and the rest is a little bigger, and also Sasuke is younger (a little over five at this point)._

_As for the ages… Itachi is about twelve at the moment, Naruto is six, Ino is few months older. The old Naruto is around twenty if anyone is curious, and I have seriously no idea as to Hiruzen :D_

_As for Ino, I always imagined her as a tomboy when she was younger. Even more so than what's presented in the manga. And don't worry, the "won't see her anymore" part was just overdramatizing on Naruto's part._

_The Sasuke-style assault at the and may be over-doing it a little, but it just felt right._

_Also we will be staying in pre-canon times for a while. I'm not yet sure how long, but there will be a lot of important events, and I hope to make it worth the time._

_Thank you!_


	3. A story of who you are

**Disclaimer:** The author of this story holds no ownership of Naruto or any of its contents. If he did, he would spend his time enjoying his private Jacuzzi instead of writing fanfics.

_I made some corrections to the previous chapter. But as there were no changes to the plot itself, you don't have to worry about reading it again. Unless you feel like it of course._

_Also I would like to thank you all for your support. It really keeps me going._

_So without further delay, on with the fic!_

_

* * *

_**A story of who you are**

He collapsed to the ground like a log, that he felt he was. He could hardly feel his legs, his throat was dry as straw, and his body refused to listen to him anymore. He finally did it. After almost three weeks of murderous training he was able to make it. He run the full four miles[1].

His legs were telling him it must have been a hundred though, and they were damn convincing. How in the world could Itachi run eight every single day escaped him. Was it even humanly possible? It was over twice the distance. And the men seemed hardly winded afterwards, and the bastard casually went on with what he called a 'warm-up' afterwards.

But he will show him one day. One day being the operative phrase. Truth was, that when he tried to look at it objectively, he couldn't even grasp the whole depth of the gap between them. And he was only like twelve himself. It was the average age at which kids finished ninja academy. It seemed distinctly unfair. He would rather die than admit it out loud, but at the moment, Naruto wasn't even sure he could pass the entrance exams at the academy, let alone graduate. Catching up to Itachi seemed impossible, and he would have to do even better if he was to become a Hokage. It almost made him think that it may just be impossible. That maybe, just maybe he would have to consider thinking of giving up at some point…

_Pft. As if. I'll show you all. Just you wait Itachi, he he he…_

He started grinning to himself when his imagination kicked in. But soon the glorious images of him in Hokage's hat, with one of his legs on the body of defeated Uchiha that was holding a small white flag suddenly disappeared when he felt something poking at his arm.

"Oy… you alive?" he heard a seemingly tired voice from behind his back, and felt another few pokes. How did it happen, that people were always there to find him when he least wanted.

"Sheesh, why do I even bother…" the voice said again, and mumbled something under his nose. It was mostly unintelligible, but involved 'being unlucky' and 'dead bodies meaning trouble'.

"Hey Shika, whose that?" came another voice, sounding curious.

_Shika_. Where did he heard that before?

"Dunno. Seems dead to me. We better leave him," the first voice commented, like it was every day that you would find a dead body in the middle of the road.

Losing his patience Naruto rolled on his back, and glared at the two boys he found behind. One of them was skinny, had short black hair, and was crouching on the ground with a twig in his hands. The other one was well build, if slightly on the chubby side[2], and had messy brown hair. They seemed no older than him.

"Hey, don't just decide that I'm dead! I can hear you perfectly!" yelled the blond.

"See Shika, you shouldn't talk like that," the bigger boy said, smiling cheerfully. "People will get angry."

"They will one way or another…" supplied the crouching kid.

"Sorry, that's just the way he is. Anyway, I'm Chouji, nice to meet you" the boy said extending his hand to Naruto.

The blond stared at the hand for a moment, not quite sure what to think. It felt somewhat unreal. A kid that just met him, being friendly with him, and after he glared at him, no less. Hesitantly he shook the boy's hand.

"Uh- yeah, nice to meet you. My name is Naruto."

The bigger boy just smiled, but Shikamaru furrowed his brows a little.

"Wasn't Naruto the name of the kid, Ino was talking 'bout the other day?" he finally asked looking at Chouji.

Naruto's eyes widened, when he finally realized where he heard the names. He sat up and pointed a finger at them both.

"Ah! You are the good for nothing lazy-asses!" he shouted. Then he quickly covered his mouth when he realised what he had just said.

The two boys exchanged quick glances.

"Yup. Sounds like Ino to me," said Chouji, still smiling.

"Trust her to say something embarrassing…" Shikamaru sighed with resignation.

Naruto looked with wonder as the boys just shrugged it off, like it was nothing. Normally they would be beaten down for something like this. Did that mean they accepted him just like that? It was the first for him. Nobody has ever been nice to him like that, except for Ino-san. He found himself smiling widely.

"Hey! What did she tell about me? Huh? Huh?" he asked excitedly, as if he were unpacking a Christmas gift.

The boys once again exchanged glances, with strange expressions on their faces.

"Leave me out of it," muttered Shikamaru.

"Um- she said you were weird…" started Chouji with an embarrassed expression. "And weak… and a punk… uhm- Shika, did she mention an idiot as well?"

"Dunno, never listened to her."

Naruto stared, his smile frozen on his face. He felt something piercing his heart with each new name. He suddenly felt really depressed, even though he suspected what was coming.

"But she seemed to like you," Chouji rushed to clarify, seeing the other kid getting depressed.

"Yeah, she liked the pendant. Thought I would never hear the end of it…" Shikamaru grumbled.

"She was telling him off for an hour, that he never gave her anything" the bigger boy explained.

Naruto smiled, slightly reassured. The image of Ino throwing a tantrum on the slow-poke was quite comforting. And funny. More funny that comforting actually, now that he thought of it. A small laugh escaped him unconsciously.

"Yeah, laugh while you still can… she will find a way to torment you as well," mumbled the boy in question.

"Speaking of torment, what were you doing lying in the middle of the road, Naruto?" asked Chouji.

"Well, I was kinda exhausted after training, and sort of dozed off…" said Naruto with an embarrassed sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head.

"You must be training pretty hard."

"Um, not really, I just run a bit to build some stamina, but I'm not doing really good. I mean I passed out after barely three miles and all…"

The other two boys looked at him, as if he just grown another head.

"Three miles?" asked Shikamaru incredulously.

"Makes me hungry, even thinking about it."

Shikamaru froze hearing that. His expression turned to one of horror for a moment.

"Lunch! Ino will kill us!" he cried, suddenly very energetic.

"Now that you mention it. We were going to get grab some lunch with Ino. Want to tag along Naruto?" asked Chouji, unfazed by his friends' panic.

Naruto just watched. All thought process seemed to cease for but a moment. He was just invited to lunch. By two guys he has just met. He found himself smiling gleefully, and he was just about to open his mouth and scream happily.

But then something crossed his mind, and all of his enthusiasm just vanished without a trace, replaced by an unpleasant feeling in his gut. He suddenly remembered a blond woman's cold gaze, as she led her daughter away from him. He suddenly remembered all the malice the people of the village seemed to reserve for him.

"Um- sorry guys, I'm actually quite busy today. Maybe some other time…" he stammered out with a lifeless voice.

Both boys suddenly looked at him strangely. Finally Chouji spoke, covering concerned look with a smile:

"It's okay. Some other time then. See you, Naruto-kun. It was nice to meet you."

Shikamaru only scrutinized him, not saying a word. After a quick wave both boys moved their way. Naruto looked as they walked away, his heart clenching, tears threatening to brake out of his eyes. Oh, how he wanted to call them back, to join them. To just walk with them for a moment. But he couldn't. No matter how he wanted to he wasn't able to utter any noise.

It was the story of his life.

_A story of a coward, who condemns himself to loneliness._

/-\-/-\-/

He was hiding on a tree branch, observing as the young Uchiha was training in company of his brother. Sasuke seemed to spent every moment of his time with his brother. Maybe under different circumstances he would find it nice, but at the moment all Naruto wanted was for the younger Uchiha to just disappear altogether. It was so painful to watch them together now. Why was he feeling that way? It was just wrong, but at the moment he couldn't help but wish to go there and strangle the kid with his own hands.

As if reading his thoughts, the older boy gestured to his brother, and after poking his forehead the way he always did, tried to send the kid away. It took quite a moment, before Sasuke finally gave up and went home. They both waited for the boy to.

Then Naruto jumped down from the tree, and walked to Itachi, who eyed him indifferently.

"What do you want squirt? I don't have time to play with you today," he stated with a levelled voice. Then again, his voice was almost always levelled.

"Then let me watch you train," he replied.

"Do whatever you want" Itachi shrugged his shoulders almost unnoticeably. He just grabbed his sword, and went back to training, as if Naruto wasn't even there.

But it was alright. The way he wanted it to be. He found himself a place under a nearby tree, where he wouldn't be a nuisance and sat down to watch. In a way it was incredible. There were several dummies scattered around the area. The young ANBU run to each one of them delivering a single cut with his ninja-to to one of the vital areas, and then, when all were 'dead', he started over. That seemed to be the case at least. All Naruto could really see was the older boy appearing next to each dummy for but a split second, just enough to deliver a quick cut, and disappear, instantly reappearing elsewhere. It was breath-taking and scary.

Yet at the same time, it helped him to calm down. It was strange. He knew full well that it was just wrong. But he couldn't help but feeling at peace, as he watched the boy slaughtering the dummies. One by one. Over and over again.

_Am I strange?_ – he wondered for a moment. But he soon perished the thought. He could be strange. He could be downright insane. At the moment he couldn't find it in himself to care.

A strange kind of relationship formed between the two of them since the time Itachi asked him to attack. The older boy would allow him to sit and watch as he trained. For the most part they did just that. Then after the training Itachi would start to instruct him about one thing or another. He would show him how to properly throw a kunai. What should be a position of the body, to deliver a swift cut, or a strong punch. Or he would lecture him on chakra theory and manipulation. He would then ask him to try it, and would even watch him practice. To someone watching from the side it would look like a teacher was helping his student, but somehow it felt totally different.

That's how he started to run every day.

"You are weak," Itachi said once after quickly examining his body. "If you ever want to be a shinobi, you have to be strong. You will have to be able to battle for hours, and deal real damage to your opponents."

That was enough. He still remembered his shock when Itachi described his daily routine. He stared at him for a few minutes then, eyes and mouth wide open. When he finally roused himself, he just thanked and left. Next day he started his morning with a long run.

"Hey, Itachi" he called, coming back to the present. There was that one thing that he just couldn't figure out.

The older boy didn't answer. There was actually no indication that he heard the words whatsoever. But Naruto was sure he heard. He seemed to hear everything, even if he was muttering it under his nose. Especially if he was muttering.

"Why are you training me?" he finally found it in himself to ask. "I mean Sasuke is there more than willing to study. Then why me?"

Itachi didn't stop. Not immediately. He just continued for another minute or two. Truth be told he couldn't quite figure out the answer himself. Why would he help the kid? It began as nothing more than a whim of his, he saw the potential, and just wanted to check it up. But then the boy would just keep showing during his training sessions. And then when he was done he would show him a thing or two, it helped him rest, allowed him to relax without thinking about things. He just felt like helping the boy train. And so he did. There was just that something in the boy, he couldn't quite ignore. He would even catch himself seeing his younger self in him. So similar, yet completely different. Only that was not really an answer. And while he couldn't quite figure it out, there was one thing he knew for sure:

"Sasuke is too young."

"I'm not really much older, you know?" Naruto answered in surprise.

"Age has nothing to do with it."

Now Naruto was seriously confused. If age didn't matter, then what did?

_Being older is all about age, isn't it?_

"You wouldn't understand."

"Wha?" that was too much. "What do you mean I wouldn't understand? How would I understand? You are making no sense!"

Itachi just looked at him. And for a moment Naruto was sure he saw a smile on his face.

"How is your training going?" the Uchiha asked.

"Hey! Don't try to change the subject! That's no fair!"

"So, how is it?"

"Good" mumbled Naruto, pouting.

It was silent for a moment, as Itachi occupied himself with cleaning the blade of his sword, and Naruto kept sulking. Each one of them lost in their own thoughts.

"But really, what is it that makes me different?" the younger boy finally broke the silence. "I mean everyone just seems to hate me from the moment they see me. Why is that?"

He wasn't really directing this question to the other boy. It was more like thinking aloud, addressing the world as a whole. But Itachi ceased polishing the blade, as if seriously pondering on the answer.

"Does that really matter?" he asked finally, causing the younger boy to jerk his head up.

"It doesn't matter what others think of you. What is truly important is who you are…" he elaborated after a moment. "And who you wish to become."

Naruto's eyes widened, as the sense of the words made its way to his mind. Did it really matter, what others thought? It did to him. But suddenly it wasn't the only thing that mattered. It suddenly hit him. There was also a question of who HE himself was. And, he realised, he couldn't answer that one either.

It was the story of his life.

_A story of questions without answers._

/-\-/-\-/

Naruto flipped page after page of a huge book lying in front of him, scanning their contents. He soon lost what remained of his patience and shut the cover, with an audible thud. A few people turned to glare at him but he paid them no mind. The great tome of _History of Konoha_ was by far the most boring book he has ever tried to read.

And it failed to come up to his expectations. Ever since that talk with Itachi he spent long hours in Konoha's library. He thought that if he was ever to figure out who he was exactly, it was necessary for him to find out more about his origin. And so he searched, with no clue but a single name. _Uzumaki_.

What he found was vague and didn't seem to bring him even a single step forward. There was indeed an Uzumaki clan, 'was' being the operative word. It seemed to be a prominent clan of Uzushiogakure, but when the village was destroyed in the last shinobi war, the clan was all but wiped out. The survivors scattered around the world, but the clan was never resurrected.

He also found out that the destroyed village was in alliance with Konoha, and leaf flak jackets still bore the Uzumaki clan's crest on the backside. And there was this princess, who was a wife of the Shodai, Mito, or something, who was also from the clan. Then there was the wife of Yondaime, Kushina, but she had no descendants.

Then he tried to read about the Kyuubi attack six years ago, as he was born around that time. But again it led to nothing. It was supposed to be a 'natural disaster', which sounded plainly weird. He could understand a tornado, or earth quake, but who would call the attack of a gigantic demon-fox a 'natural' cataclysm? It was beyond his grasp.

During the battle that followed, Yondaime Hokage managed to kill the demon, sacrificing his own life in the process. That seemed strange as well. He didn't really know all that much about demons, but weren't they supposed to be like, immortal, or something?

All in all his grand research brought nothing but more confusion. Uzumaki clan, Uzushiogakure, Yondaime Hokage and the Kyuubi. Somewhere deep in his mind he felt it was all somehow connected. And somewhere in midst of all this lay the clue to his past, somehow he was sure of it. He knew had all the pieces, only he couldn't place them in the right spots.

It was the story of his life.

_A story of answers without questions._

/-\-/-\-/

"Eight-nine… ninety… ninety-one… ninety… two… ninety… three…"

His arms refused to cooperate anymore. It seemed matching Itachi was only a dream. He did one hundred. And repeated it thrice every session. It was just crazy. It was impossible. The bastard must have been joking, when he said that. How could one possibly do that much after running for so much, and then have enough strength to actually train?

Naruto lay on the ground feeling helpless. It wasn't the first time he thought that maybe he should give up. Maybe he had just no talent at all. Itachi never prised him, always pointing out mistakes, telling him that he was weak and whiny.

And he was making no progress at all! Sure when he started over a month ago he could barely do seventy push-ups, and now he was doing over ninety, without feeling that his arms would fell off any moment, but it was still so little. And the higher he went, the harder it seemed to go further. It felt futile to even move a muscle.

_Get up!_ – Itachi's voice appeared in his mind, as if he were standing next to him. _Get up and quit your whining. Complains won't help you. You have to work harder. And when you feel you have reached your limit, you have to work even harder than that. It is the only way to move forward._

_Oh, shut up! I know, okay? Who do you take me for?_

He leant on his hands and started again. Stupid Itachi, and his stupid rumbling. He knew full well that he had to train without being told to.

"One… two… three…"

He won't let some stupid muscle-pains get the better of himself. He wasn't some pushover who would let himself be ordered around!

"Four… five… six…"

He was going to become a Hokage one day, and they will make him a statue on the cliff, and everyone will look up to him. And no stupid Itachi had a say in the matter. He wasn't going to listen to no fortune-tellers, or seers. He didn't know what was his fate, but whatever it was, he wasn't going to let it tell him what to do. He will become strong.

It was the story of his life.

_A story of a man who sought power to challenge his destiny._

/-\-/-\-/

It was a nice, warm afternoon. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping among the trees, and children played in the park. Save for one, who was lying on a tree branch, relaxing after training. He like them. Days such as this, peaceful moments, when everything just seemed right. It calmed him down.

And then he heard it. A dissonance in peaceful harmony of the park. He strained his ears. Someone was sobbing quietly. Probably a girl, but he couldn't tell. For a fatigue fought with curiosity, but soon gave up. He was not one to sit still when something happened. He was more of a type to make something happen himself.

He stood up careful not to fall down, while he was at it, and then cautiously jumped to the next branch. He didn't want to make any noise. He was a ninja after all. He was like a hero, on a quest to free a princess from the clutches of an evil villain. He had to sneak up carefully, not to awaken a terrible beast guarding the entrance to the princess' tower. Then out of the blue he would appear and slay the beast in a single strike. And he would get a princess and they would live happily ever after… He didn't really get why would he need a princess to live happily ever after, but then again, heroic tales didn't have to make sense, did they?

_Aha! There she is, the princess! _– he declared, as he found a little pink-haired girl sobbing under the tree he stood on. Quite a strange pick of hair-colour for a princess, but beggars can't be choosers. Now he only needed a beast. He looked around carefully, and just then someone appeared in the bushes next to the girl.

_And here comes the mighty beast, the embodiment of evil, the… INO?_

Naruto stared with wide eyes as a blond girl appeared and crouched in front of the pink-haired 'princess'.

"So you are the big-forehead," she stated.

The boy shook his head recovering from the shock. Yeah, it was Ino-san, no mistaking it. He sat down to watch. If Ino was involved, something fun was sure to happen.

"Everyone was making fun of it" she continued.

"Who are…" the other girl asked.

"I'm Ino, what about you?"

"I'm… Sakura… Haruno Sakura"

"Sakura-chan, then? I see, so this is the big forehead" Ino said poking the other girls head. Sakura looked ready to cry even harder.

"Why would you cover it like that? Sheesh, you look like some kind of ghost, or a character from horror movie," the blond girl continued not discouraged at all. "Really, you can't do it, it will only make it worse…"

She then paused pondering something. She looked at the girls forehead, then stared in the direction of other children.

"Wait right he, I'll be back"

Sakura nodded slightly, wiping the tears from her cheeks, as Ino disappeared again.

Naruto looked down thoughtfully. Seriously, what was it with the forehead? He knew girls could act kind of strange, when it came to their looks, but that was just crazy. Seriously, he could accept a big nose, or protruding ears, or something, but a big forehead? He scrutinized the girl. Granted he couldn't see very well from the angle he had, the girl looked alright. The haircut made her look somewhat creepy, but other than that she seemed ok… He scratched his head. He would probably never understand girls.

"Here it is!" Ino declared appearing again.

"What… is it?

"A ribbon. Come here…" she stated waving with a red ribbon in his hand. Sakura didn't move. "I said come here!"

Not losing any time, Ino forcefully held the girl's head and started to make her hair. Sakura tried to struggle at first but quickly gave up, after she recovered from surprise. Soon the ribbon was tied around the girl's hair. The blond stepped back to admire her work.

"See, it's much better. You can keep the ribbon," she stated, giving a thumb-up.

"Um-… thanks, but… my forehead…"

"Geez! I told you. If you keep it hidden, they will continue to laugh at you. You have to show it of with confidence! Confidence! Come on, wipe those tears, and let's go show them!" said Ino, and then not waiting for consent started to drag the other girl by the arm.

"W-wait… I can't…"

"I said confidently! How is that confident?"

And with that Sakura let herself be dragged. The blond boy looked at it with a warm smile. It felt nice. Just observing them like that. Ordinary kids and their problems. He sometimes wished he could also be like that. To have no worries other than, what kind of ramen eat for lunch. It was so enviable. But it was also alright. Watching wasn't really bad. He could live with that. It was enough… It had to be…

It was the story of his life.

_A story of the one who sat on the sidelines of everyday life._

/-\-/-\-/

"Can't we do something more exciting for once?" a boy complained.

"He is right, we have done many enough of those D-ranked missions," another consented in a tired voice.

"Calm down! You are still genins, and whether you like it or not, this" an older man said pointing to a scroll in his hand "is the kind of work designed for you. You will see. One they, when you guys will be struggling to live, during a real mission, you will come to miss these time."

"Yeah, sure…" one of the boys answered, shrugging off the answer he must have heard a thousandth time.

It was quite a typical scene. A jonin trying to convince his students, that all they should wish for is a D-rank mission, while all they wanted themselves was a serious job. Itachi looked at all this, sitting on a rooftop. He tried to remember when he himself was like that, but only found out, that such a time never really existed. Since his earliest days he has been trained under scrutinizing attention of his clansman. Being labelled a prodigy, one of the most talented in clan history, made him the centre of everyone's attention. As a result, when he graduated from ninja academy, even being the seven-year old he was then, he was never assigned to a normal genin team. Not because, he was too young, but because by that time, he was already above a rookie genin level. And as a part of influential Uchiha clan, he received special tutelage, and was thrown straight into the world of real shinobi. At first he was only assisting during missions, but soon he was deemed ready, and started to attend as a full-fledged team member. By the time he participated in chunin exam, he had already a record of several completed B-rank missions.

Such was his fate, and he never tried to fight it. However much of genius he was, he could do nothing to change the ways of the world, a single man he was. He instead devoted himself to honing his skills, so that in a time of need he could do what needed to be done. And that he did. There was no place for feeling there, and so he did not feel. Not sadness, nor anger, nor self-pity. It was only a times like this, when he looked at other people, 'normal' people, that he couldn't help but to feel regret, over the opportunities he had never been granted.

It was only at a times like this that he wanted to find out, how it really felt to be 'ordinary', and attend some dull, tedious D-rank assignment under the supervision of his teacher, or supervising a student himself…

But there was one. A kid, who had yet to enter the world of true shinobi. One that would just pop into his mind, when he thought about it._ Naruto._

He looked around, to see if all was right. After all he was on duty at the moment, as it was a standard practice for a squad[3] of ANBU to be on patrol duty at any given time. But in reality it was only a back-up, more of a war-time remaining, than an actual need. And so no one would notice his disappearance. His hands flashed briefly through a sequence of seals, and soon a clone took over the lookout and Itachi himself, disguised by a genjutsu-enforced henge, to hide his ANBU uniform and slipped from the roof, joining the crowd on the street.

Naruto was just getting out of the shower, after his morning routine, drying his hair with a towel, and trying to figure out what to do with his time. He looked over his apartment. It was small and cramped, but he quite liked it. It had all that he really needed. A bad to sleep on, a closet to store his clothes in and a table to eat at. A little free space was also there to store various stuff, and he had a lot of that. It sometimes made him wonder how he got it. Those were mostly trinkets he would pick here and there, a lot of funny shaped small objects he would take a liking to. There were also some clay and stone figurines he would make himself, though calling them figurines might have been an exaggeration. He wasn't much of an artist, nor did he have any real talent, but what he had was a lot of time on his hands and an excess of energy to spend. So he attempted everything that would pick any of his interest, starting from cooking, through drawing and sculpting, to tinkering. He was good at neither, but he had picked a thing or two about each and every one of them.

His thoughts were disrupted by a knock on his door. That was one unusual occurrence. He never really had guests. He moved to open the door, and found himself staring wide eyed and open-mouthed at the last person he would expect to see there.

"Get ready, we are setting off for a mission shortly," stated Itachi in his usual levelled voice.

Naruto just watched. All his thoughts ceased, as a part of him tried to decipher the meaning of the words he just heard, while the rest was yet to get over the shock of finding him at the doorstep. He slammed the door, and then opened them again. The older boy was still there.

"What are you doing? Stop wasting time and get ready."

"What?" was first thing to come out of Naruto's mouth.

"I told you to hurry and get ready."

The blonds eyes widened even further as he started to realise what was going on. It didn't make any sense, but there stood Itachi stating that he would take him for mission. And he wasn't one to make jokes.

"Are you serious?" Naruto asked.

The older boy just stared at him, completely ignoring the question.

"But I'm not even a ninja yet," the blond said incredulously, in a futile attempt to make sense in what was going on.

"That's not for you to worry about" came the answer. And Naruto was more than ready to comply.

So what if it didn't make sense. He felt a load of wild joy, and overabundant energy suddenly exploding inside of him, and sense lost all significance. He rushed back into his room, and almost killed himself a few times in a chaotic attempt to be in multiple places doing multiple things, all at the same time. A small smile appeared on the older boys face, as he watched it all. One that he himself seemed unaware of.

Finally the blond boy emerged out of his room radiating readiness and anticipation.

"So, what do we do? What kind of mission is it? Where are we going?" he asked all in a single breath.

"Calm down. Change to the redhead," Itachi stated, invoking a confused look on the boy's face. The older boy sighed and begun to elaborate:

"You are too young for once. And your face is far too well known, if only for the amount of times the chunins had to chase you all over the village. You have to appear at least ten not to attract unnecessary attention…" he stated as if it was the most obvious thing. Then again, it was pretty obvious. It was unheard of for a small kid to attend a mission, and it would only cause a commotion. Naruto could understand it all, and a part of him was anticipating it all along, yet he couldn't help but feel a little sad about it.

He formed the necessary seals, and without uttering a word, changed into a boy with semi-long red hair, about the age of a rookie genin. He looked at the mirror. It was perfect. He smiled at Itachi, readying himself to go. But his enthusiasm was suddenly crushed, as he heard the sentence of the other boy.

"Again."

"Wha?" Naruto asked incredulously. "What is wrong with it! I did well!"

"Your nose is off, redo," Itachi stated, unfazed by blonde's outburst.

It took another dozen tries until he finally found the outcome satisfying. There were some risks involved and he didn't want to take any chances if he could help it. He then placed his hand on Naruto's head and interwove a few simple genjutsu techniques into the disguise.

"What did you just do?" the boy asked.

"Don't worry about it. We need to go. Take this," said Itachi extending his hand.

The boy gasped, seeing Konoha forehead protector. He stared at it in wonder not knowing how to react. It was a village headgear! A symbol of being a ninja, a thing only a true shinobi should wear. He reached for it with hesitation, his heart suddenly beating like crazy. And when his fingers skipped over the metal he felt tears of joy welling in his eyes. He quickly wiped them with his other hand, and looked up at Itachi.

"Just put it on," the boy said. And even though his voice was as levelled as it always was, Naruto could have sworn he saw a little smile on his face.

He nodded smiling widely. It was definitely the best day of his life. And as he tied the ribbon around his head, he could feel a strange feeling welling up inside him. It was as if the world suddenly felt boundless, and unrestricted. And there was nothing that he couldn't do, nowhere he couldn't go. With that symbol tied on his forehead there was no longer anything impossible in the world. It felt like it was there within the reach of his hands, everything he wanted, everything he dreamt of. He just needed to extend his hand.

It was the story of his life.

_A story of a boy who chased his dreams._

/-\-/-\-/

"Here we are," Itachi stated, when they stopped on the corner of the street.

"Huh? Huh? Where?"

"Look up."

And Naruto did. What he saw was a collapsed roof fragment, on top of one of the buildings. He turned back to Itachi, confused.

"What of it?"

"That's your mission. You are to provide assistance in the reconstruction."

Naruto just watched for a moment, digesting the piece of information.

"Whaaat? No way!" he cried when the realisation finally downed on him, shattering all his great expectations. That was supposed to be a MISSION? What part of it was a work for a ninja?

"It's a typical lower D-rank assignment. Now, let's go."

Naruto just watched, looking at the heap of rubble, which seemed to mark the grave of his dreams. He resigned himself. Somewhere in his mind he knew something like that would happen, but the excitement fuelled imagination kept showing all the exciting, glorious events that could await him, and he couldn't help but get carried away.

_Stupid, kill-joy Itachi._

"Come on," said the Uchiha boy.

He looked at the pouting redhead. He could see it coming. All the excitement vanished, made the boy defiantly showing disappointment. He couldn't help but smile. It was a refreshing sight, so different from the serious, cold atmosphere of ANBU missions. There was no place for disappointment there. There was hardly a place for any feelings. Yet here, here one could feel at ease. But there was still work to be done. He reached for the mission scroll he took from the assignment centre beforehand. It proved to be easier than he expected. He didn't even have to use his ANBU privileges, he just filled in a form, and picked a job from the register. No one really paid attention to who took D-rank missions.

He scanned the details listed on the scroll looking for the employer name. The man proved easy to find.

"Sakata-san," Itachi bowed slightly, greeting the older, slightly bolding man.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy," the man grumbled looking up from the blueprint.

"My name is Hiroaki. My team was assigned to provide the assistance you requested."

"Your team?" the man asked looking sceptical.

"Yes, me and my charge here, Daisuke," he said, pointing to Naruto.

The engineer scrutinized them, and sighed tiredly, accepting the fact. There was only so much you could expect from the ninja. At least it was cheap.

"Ok, so both of you, see those logs there? Help transport them to the roof."

"Oh, I think you misunderstood, sir" Itachi-Hiroaki interrupted. "The boy will be the one providing assistance," he clarified with a wide smile.

"WHAT?" two voices cried in unison, for two entirely different reasons.

Itachi only looked at them, false smile still on his face.

"No time to lose, Daisuke, snap to it" he said to Naruto. "Show Sakata-san here just how big of a help you are."[4]

The boy glared for a moment, but then gave up, grumbling something about 'exploit' and 'stupid boss'.

"The boy needs to train," the alleged chunin continued. "If his work proves insufficient, I'll aid him personally."

The man looked at him doubtfully with ill-concealed irritation.

"IF it's insufficient? And what exactly am I supposed to do with a single brat?" he exclaimed.

"Calm down, Sakata-san. I'm sure you'll be satisfied. Daisuke! Did I tell you anything about using the stairs? You go up the wall!"

They red-head turned to look at him incredulously for a moment, but then stepped on the wall and started walking up, with a large log under his arm.

"Faster!"

The boy stopped for a moment, and after an irritated gesture, he dashed up the wall, like it was a normal road. Satisfied Itachi turned back to the engineer. The older man just stared wide-eyed, seemingly at a loss for words.

"I'm sure you will be able to find some use for him."

The man just stared. It wasn't the first time he was using ninja assistance. After all he was a construction engineer in a ninja village. It was pretty much a standard practice. But genins rarely proved to be of much help. Even if they could climb the wall, they moved slowly, and soon grew tired and whiny…

"Just what in the world is that kid?" he muttered.

A small smile appeared on Itachi's face. The boy really had something about him. His seemed to have inexhaustible energy. It wasn't even so much a matter of his stamina, which was quite good in itself. It was rather the sheer recovery speed he had. No matter how tired he was, it seemed a small break was all he needed to be back up and ready for more. But that could be explained by Kyuubi's influence.

The really scary part, was how fast he could learn certain things. A month ago, when he first took interest in the boy, he could hardly gather his chakra, and a few steps were all he could do. With only a little guidance, no more than two weeks later he was walking up vertical slopes as if it was the most natural thing.

But the most surprising thing was the asymmetry in his skill. There were skills he grasped so fast that it made you wonder how it was even possible. And yet he struggled a lot with others. Kenjutsu for instance. It wasn't that his progress was slow. But even the basic forms seemed to take him a lot more to learn, than even more advanced taijutsu forms.

He found himself really looking forward to the kid's progress. He had no idea how it happened, but he started to really train the boy. It made no sense whatsoever. They share absolutely no connection, and there was nothing for him to gain out of it. But here he was acting as the boy's supervisor, as he completed his first mission. It was downright wrong, yet it felt just right.

_Really, just what in the world is that kid?_

Meanwhile Naruto was standing on the ceiling holding a part of the frame while other workers were fixing it to the rest of construction. He was happy. It didn't make sense. He was tired, and winded, and covered in sweat, and he should be irritated at the stupid Itachi for making him do all this stupid work. But he wasn't.

Instead he felt exhilarated. Here he was working with strangers, people he just met. They looked at him, they talked to him, yet there wasn't even a hint of coldness in their eyes, no sign of hostility in their gestures. They were nice to him. They smiled, they patted him on the back, and even thanked him for his help. They were accepting him as he was. It felt great. Enough to let him ignore all the protests of his body.

"Alright, done. Good work, Daisuke. You can take a break if you want," one of the workers said, smiling at him.

And at that moment Naruto felt all the fatigue leaving him, as if it was never there. And he knew, that he would do anything for this kind of feeling. He would work to death, to make people look at him that way. And he would never stop.

"I can still work!" he cried.

It was the story of his life.

_A story of an orphan that strived for acceptance._

/-\-/-\-/

_It was dark. The wind was blowing lightly causing an eerie whispers in the forest. It should have been calm, but it was anything but. The atmosphere reeked of fear, and he could feel it with every cell of his body. It was taking his breath, pressing him to the ground, and making him cover in cold sweat._

_He jumped when he heard an explosion somewhere far away. He turned that way, clutching the kunai he was nervously holding, even harder. Then there was a scream. Of horror or pain. He couldn't tell. He didn't want to know. He just wanted to return home. To run to his mother and find comfort in her warm hug. But she wasn't here. He was alone in this forest. There was a girl that was supposed to watch over him, but he didn't know her. He was alone in this camp, that everyone left him in. It was dark, and it was cold, and it was scary._

_In a flash of a thunder a man appeared. No, not a man, a boy, no more than twelve. The girl attacked him, and they fought. They were both scared. He could see it. He could feel it. Everyone was scared. Of everyone. Everyone but him. The girl fell down holding her stomach. And the boy came his way. No, he staggered. He was injured, the clothes on his arm and side red with blood. And he was breathing heavily. But he was scary, even more so because of the injuries. He stood before him and raised his weapon. But the he couldn't see anything more as he closed his eyes then, attacking desperately with the kunai he was still holding. He felt little resistance when his blade pierced the boy's flesh, and he felt something warm and wet._

_The boy fell down. He was dead. And the girl as well. Everyone was dead. There was blood on the kunai. He threw it away with a scream. But his hands were also covered in blood. And his clothes. There was blood everywhere. He turned and tried to run, but he fell down. And when he opened his eyes there was a dead body right before his eyes._

He sat on his bad. For a moment he looked around trying to understand where he was. Then he calmed down. It was his home. He slowly levelled his breath and wiped cold sweat from his forehead. It was just another nightmare.

Itachi stood up quietly, not wanting to wake anyone up. He didn't want anyone finding him awake at this time. It would bring questions, and he would have to answer, which he didn't want to. No, his clan wasn't supposed to know of this particular part of him. As far as it was concerned the nightmares ceased long time ago. After all he was a genius, a prodigy, and as such he didn't have nightmares.

He sat at the porch and looked up. The starry sky always helped him regain his calm, and ease his nerves. He wondered if he will ever free himself of the memories of that night. He was five at the time. Or was he six? He didn't remember, and didn't want to. The clan decided that it was time for its prodigy to finally see what was war. That night he would kill for the first time. It was the end of his childhood.

The boy that left for that mission was excited and waited in anticipation. The boy that returned was wreck, empty, shivering wreck of a man, who had lost his smile.

Many things changed from that day. He learned to live with it. He could sleep, even if he would have a nightmare occasionally. He was able to lead an ordinary life. As ordinary as his life could be. Such was his fate, fate of all those, who were deemed geniuses. Power at the cost of one's soul. At least that was what he used to believe in. Until he met him.

_Naruto._

The boy was a denial of everything he was. He was shunned, despised and feared. And yet, despite all of it, he still held to happiness. He was still normal if haunted by nightmares of his own. He was still able to smile and laugh.

And he finally realised, that he had to check. He needed to see for himself. What would happen to the boy, when he would learn the truth of shinobi life. When he will experience death, will he still be able to laugh. Will he still remain who he is?

A pair of red eyes stared into the night.

_How will you fare Naruto?_

It was the story of their lives.

_A story of the children forced to live as adults._

/-\-/-\-/

"Seconds!" Naruto yelled rising his plate.

"Stay quiet, how many times am I supposed to remind you, it's rude to yell at the table?" Biwako reprimanded while putting another portion of meat on his plate.

"Ups, sorry Baa-san" he smiled sheepishly. It wasn't a good idea to get under granny's skin. She could be really scary, if she wanted.

"The Inuzuka clan is still restless," Hiruzen said tiredly, breaking the silence.

"They are still in conflict with the Kamio clan?"

"It doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon."

"Is it still about that boy, Yuudai was he?"

"Yes, the incident is still in the air, but the conflict is starting to feed onto itself.

"Huh? What happened?" asked Naruto curiously.

"It's a long story," the Hokage smiled.

"Come on, old m-… Jii-san," the boy corrected himself hearing Biwako clearing her troat. "It can't be that long."

"Well… too put it simply, Yuudai of the Kamio clan seriously injured one of the dogs of Hana, one of the Inuzukas, while they were sparring. It wouldn't probably cause such a commotion, if the kids weren't already on bad terms. The Inuzuka clan demanded an apology, and the Kamio stated that the whole incident was caused due to Inuzuka's daughter incompetence… Inuzuka Tsuma then slandered the head of Kamio clan – Yuuta… both sides are prideful and refuse to back down. It seemed to die down, but recently it flared up again."

"I always knew the matter should have been dealt with immediately," stated Biwako, shaking her head. "Now it is out of hand and threatens to break into an open fight."

"I don't get it. Why do adults always make such a big fuss over everything?"

"It's how the political scene works, Naruto," Hiruzen explained. "It's not as much the incidents themselves that are in the root of conflict. The incidents only serve to reveal the tension that already existed."

"So in other words, they are just looking for a reason to fight…"

"You could put it that way," the old man smiled.

"Figures. It's always like that. They just keep smiling, even if they can't stand each other. But if they both know they can't stand each other, why not just show it, and act. It just makes things worse," Naruto reasoned.

"There are times when you can't allow personal feelings affect your actions," responded Biwako.

Naruto didn't respond. He knew that far too well. People constantly acted towards him as if nothing was wrong. But he knew it was only a front. He could see it in their eyes, all the underlying tension, all the hostility. And he would learn to act like that as well, as if he was ok. But he was not.

He raised from the table, and carried his plate to the kitchen.

"Hey, Jii-san, can I ask you for a favour?" he decided to change the topic.

"What is it, Naruto?"

"Can I look at your library, please?" the boy asked summoning his best hopeful smile.

The Hokage sighed.

"I'm sorry Naruto, you know it's impossible."

"What would you even want from it?" Biwako asked arching an eyebrow.

"But the books in the public library are all boring. All they have are elementary textbooks. And they wouldn't let me use the Academy library. Come on, lend me something to read," Naruto said.

He couldn't possibly tell the truth. He couldn't ask what was really on his mind. About his clan, about the Kyuubi, about Yondaime Hokage. About his parents…

He would only hear excuses, as he did when he was younger. And he couldn't bear any more of those. He trusted the old man, he really did. And he didn't want to lose this trust. So he couldn't ask. He couldn't risk hearing any more lies. He wouldn't be able to bear them.

Hokage and his wife only stared at him for a moment, with unreadable expressions. Then the old man stood up and walked to one of the bookcases. He browsed through the content for a moment, Biwako staring at him thoughtfully.

"I can't really stand in the way of someone chasing knowledge," the old shinobi said finally pulling a scroll from the shelf. "I think you will like this one. It was written by the fourth."

The old women's eyes widened for a moment, but then she composed herself.

"His work on shape manipulation? Isn't it a little too advanced?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"Whoa! Cool, let me see!" Naruto cried excitedly. It may not have been what he really wanted, but there was no way he would let something like that slip out of his hands.

He grabbed the scroll, from Hokage's hand and unrolled it a little scanning the text. It really was a serious work for once. He looked up with a big grin on his face.

"Thx, old man! You are the best geezer in the world!" he cried hugging the man quickly, and then run off before granny realised what he said.

"I'll return it when I'm done!" he added by the way of goodbye.

The two older people looked as he disappeared with grim expressions.

"When would he change so much?" asked Biwako finally.

There was something about the boy that started to change recently. He suddenly seemed more determined, like he would found himself a goal of some sorts. It worried them both. Kids should act as kids. It was their unshakable belief.

"I'm not sure myself. But I'm having a really bad feeling for a while now," said Hiruzen.

"Do you have any idea what may be the cause."

"I wish I knew."

And he really did not know. All he found was that Naruto would suddenly change his attitude. He heard people saw him in the library a few times, studying history works. And there were those unspoken questions, he could feel in the air, every time he talked with the boy. He was searching for the truth. But Hiruzen knew that he was not yet ready for it. He was young, far too young to bear the burden of that knowledge.

Sometimes it was necessary to hide the truth.

But it seemed that someone inspired the boy to search for answers, that he should not find. And he did it knowing full well what the answers would be. And a single name would come to his mind whenever he thought about it.

_Uchiha Itachi._

It was the story of their world.

_A story of reality built on lies._

/-\-/-\-/

"Hey! Itachi!" Naruto called appearing from between the tries, and then stopped. "Huh? What's wrong? You are not training?"

The older boy looked up from the scroll he was studying.

"So you came…" he said carefully rolling the scroll and putting it in the bag that laid next to him.

"Huh? I guess… is there some special occasion or something?" the boy asked uncertainly.

Itachi stood up and scrutinized him slowly.

"Actually there is," he spoke finally. "Come here."

Naruto did as he was told, suddenly very curious, and looked at the other boy expectantly. But all he got was a poke on the forehead.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

"I put you under a genjutsu," Itachi said.

"Why?" Naruto asked, feeling completely lost.

"Turn around."

Once he did he froze up. There in a little clearing stood… him. A perfect copy of himself. He stared with wide eyes, and jerked his head towards Itachi, who now stood beside him.

"Wh-…?"

"You will need a cover. If I am to take you for any more missions, you will need a new name and a new face. Something people will recognise, and don't connect with you," the older boy said.

Naruto looked at him shocked. It was happening to fast. He felt completely lost.

"You know it. You want to learn, to gain strength, and you can only gain that in the real world. But you are young. To become enter the academy and become a genin at this age you will need a special permission," Itachi continued, while the boys eyes widened with realisation.

"You do realize. The boy named Uzumaki Naruto will not receive any special treatment. To change that you need to become someone else…"

Naruto turned to look at his clone. A new face…

Yes, he knew. He knew all along, that he would have to sacrifice something. And he couldn't sacrifice his dreams.

Itachi looked, as the boy turned to him again, expression of detachment on his face.

"Let's begin," Naruto said in a cold, determined voice.

It was the story of who he was.

_A story of a man with two faces…_

**

* * *

Footnotes:**

_1. I tried to be reasonable, but I'm not sure how much a six years-old kid can do. If you know better and it sounds off, let me know. At this point Naruto Is not much different to your average energetic kid, maybe with slightly higher stamina due to his furry friend. So if it sounds impossible, let me know._

_2. Yup, Shikamaru still had short hair when he was younger. At least in this fic. It was only after he grew up, he decided that attending barber on a regular basis was too much of a hassle._

_And Chouji isn't really fat. Not yet anyway. I always imagined him as being of a bigger frame, but not necessarily fat. Just a few additional pounds to supply him with energy when needed. And I think it makes sense._

_I tried to make them as childish as I could, and I guess that's my limit. I can' quite picture them any more childish than this. I hope they won't strike as too old._

_3. A squad equals to two teams, i.e. eight shinobi (in this fic that is)._

_4. Daisuke literally means "big help"_

**

* * *

Authors comments: **_And that's where it's all really starting. Took a while to begin, didn't it? Also the chapter turned up pretty long. Took me by surprise actually._

_Anyway, I would like to apologize to Proyotra-hime for shamelessly borrowing her brilliant stylistic idea from chapter 1 of Hakumei. I just couldn't help myself. I wanted to leave a stronger impression with this chapter, and it just felt like the best way to achieve just that. I hope that she will forgive me, should she ever read this fic._

_On to different notes. There are several characters making an appearance here (well in Sakura's case its rather vague, since I only tinkered with an original scene a bit. Check it out at the end of volume six, if you want comparison.) I hope you will like it. I'm not yet completely sure as to their respective roles in the story, but you can be sure we will be meeting them again._

_I also decided to give you a little peek into Itachi's mind. He is quite whimsical once you get to know him, isn't he? He is a second most important character in the story at the moment, and it's unlikely he will be stepping down any time soon._

_The development was a bit slow once again. Guess that's just my style. On the bright side you can expect much more action next chapter. So stay tuned, and look forward to the further, painful development for our hero. Man, I'm so cruel…_

_Anyway, I posted some of my recommendations in my profile, so if you liked what I wrote, you may also wish to look them up._

_Finally, review. I need a piece of your mind everyone if I hope to ever make it into a good fic. I will try to make corrections, if you will point me my mistakes. Not to mention it really keeps me motivated. So if you enjoyed what you wrote, take a moment to scribble down a few words._

_And I'll be needing a new name for Naruto. I have one in mind, but I haven't decided yet, so if you have an idea, give it to me. I may just use it. Also if there are some parts of the story, that you think are worse than others, tell me about it. I may rewrite it if i see the need._

_Thank you!_


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